Health & Fitness - Young cancer survivors suffer more stress

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Young cancer survivors suffer more stress

BOSTON (UPI) -- Severe stress is common among cancer survivors, but those younger than age 65 are more likely to suffer severe psychological distress, U.S. researchers say.

Resources at the Harvard Medical School in Boston found long-term cancer survivors are almost twice as likely as those never diagnosed with cancer to report psychological distress severe enough to cause problems functioning at work or school.

The study also found no difference in the number of years since the cancer diagnosis and the increased risk of distress.

"We hope these findings will raise awareness of the psychosocial needs of long-term cancer survivors and encourage routine psychological screening of these survivors," lead study author Dr. Karen Hoffman said in a statement. "Quick, low-cost psychological screening tests are available that can and should be performed during clinic visits."

The study involved those interviewed in-person in the 2002-2006 National Health Interview Survey and included 4,712 adults who had lived five years or more beyond their initial cancer diagnosis and 126,841 respondents who had never been diagnosed with cancer.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Boston.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 09/30/2008

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